Tingley Has Best Night of His Career

Discussing the seven shutout innings he pitched in the Angels’ 5-0 victory over the Blue Jays Saturday brought a smile to Kirk McCaskill’s face.

Analyzing the effectiveness of his curveball, which helped him record six strikeouts, gave him a look of satisfaction.

But not until he was asked about the two-hit, three-RBI contribution of reserve catcher Ron Tingley did McCaskill’s face light up.

“I’m just tickled pink to see him get those hits,” McCaskill said of his batterymate, who is better known for his defensive skills than his offensive prowess. “He’s a real good catcher, and it was just a fantastic night for him.”

There have been few such nights for Tingley, who has less than two years of major league experience at age 32.

Tingley, in the lineup for a career-high third consecutive game while Lance Parrish rests his sore left shoulder, nearly matched his career RBI total Saturday with singles in the second inning off Todd Stottlemyre (5-1) and the eighth off Jim Acker.

His second hit came after Donnie Hill had been walked intentionally to get to Tingley, and he confounded that righty-righty strategy with a grounder into left field that scored Dave Parker and Junior Felix.

“I was kind of nervous around the seventh or eighth inning,” Tingley said. “I thought we’d better get some runs because those guys can explode.”

He was an unlikely candidate to drive in those runs, though, because he entered this season with two career RBI--both on a home run for Cleveland against Baltimore’s Jeff Ballard on Aug. 3, 1988. He drove in a run against Baltimore a week ago with a ground out and added another Friday against Toronto.

“The bottom line with Ron Tingley is he caught McCaskill’s last game at Baltimore and did an outstanding job, (Friday) night he did an outstanding job and he catches a shutout tonight,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “It’s nice to see him be productive, but his real value is what he’s done receiving the baseball.”

Contributing offensively is a rare and pleasant experience for Tingley, who has a .149 lifetime batting average.

“I’m setting records left and right--personal records,” said Tingley, who began the season with triple-A Edmonton and was promoted on May 8.

“It’s a confidence-builder. You feel more relaxed. I’m just glad to have the opportunity to play the three games. It’s a confidence-builder not only for me, but for the players around me, that if Lance is out, they know I can go in there and do the job.”

He has done a good enough job to guide McCaskill (4-5) to successive victories after McCaskill had lost four consecutive starts. The two last collaborated on May 19, when McCaskill pitched 5 2/3 innings in a 10-2 Angel rout at Baltimore. On Saturday, McCaskill was even sharper, giving up four hits and striking out six.

“It’s probably a coincidence,” Tingley said of their success. “The last time I caught him, he couldn’t get his curveball over. Tonight, he did. He got (John) Olerud looking (with a runner on second in the sixth) with a curve down the middle. We were just picking our spots.”

They picked their spots well. Toronto got a runner to third only once, in the fifth. After McCaskill departed, having thrown 107 pitches, Mark Eichhorn and Bryan Harvey each pitched an inning to secure the triumph and keep the Blue Jays from overtaking the Boston Red Sox and assuming the AL East lead.

“(McCaskill) has really thrown well his last two times out,” Rader said. “It looks like he’s over his scare, we’re over a scare.”

McCaskill was hesitant to proclaim that since he got his curveball over Saturday, his troubles are over.

“Every time I have a good curveball, I say to you (reporters), ‘I’ve got my curve back,’ and then it’s not there,” McCaskill said. “I’m just trying to throw strikes.”

He said it was time for him to go after seven innings, much as he might have liked a complete game or a shutout. With a bullpen that owns a 1.54 earned-run average and hasn’t been scored upon in its last eight appearances, taking a chance on his stamina made no sense.

“All I care about is us winning,” McCaskill said, “whether I get the shutout or not. I just want to contribute. I went through a couple of tough weeks where I wasn’t doing that.”

Tingley is scheduled to be back on the bench today, but he doesn’t mind slipping back into a backup role. Not with all these RBIs to count.

“It won’t be disappointing,” he said. “We played a heck of a game (Friday) and came up with a loss, and we won tonight. I just want to keep on a roll. It’ll be nice to sit back and think about tonight.”